Why The Microsoft Kinect Is Not Racist

Despite what you may have read, it turns out that the Kinect—and Microsoft by extension—doesn’t favor one race over another. Tech journalists just like to write sensational headlines sometimes.

One of the more ridiculous stories surrounding Microsoft’s Kinect for Xbox 360 launch yesterday asserted that because the system’s sensor had some trouble recognizing two dark-skinned users that it was ‘racist.’

It all started with GameSpot reporting that while testing the Kinect, two of its dark-skinned employees had problems with the system’s facial recognition.